The Lost One: What Price Freedom?
by manga
Summary: Rayek has 'carried' Winnowill for centuries but now things are coming to a head.
1. Prologue

The Lost One: Prelude by Heather Grimes 
    
    
    Ekuar was worried. Rayek had grown continually worse during the last few
    eights. His temper was as frayed as a zwoot's tail, yet he was often silent,
    locked in mental battle with Winnowill. Sudden bursts of snarled gibberish
    punctuated the long nights. At first, Ekuar had barely noticed. Sharing a body
    with Winnowill, Rayek was often in a similar state. But as the days passed and
    Rayek continued to deteriorate, Ekuar's fears wakened. As the days became
    eights, Ekuar's fears worsened. Rayek and Winnowill were locked in perpetual
    battle, but now Ekuar feared that it would come to out and out warfare. And now,
    Ekuar realized that his heart's son might not necessarily win that war. After
    centuries of acting as Winnowill's prison, Rayek may lose his control of
    Winnowill. This time, forever.
    

* * *

Continue 

Go back to the Archive 

Elfquest, its characters, situations, logos and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. Unless otherwise specified, all graphics on this page are the original work of Wendy and Richard Pini and Warp Graphics, TM and (c) 1996 Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. 


	2. Chapter one

What Price Freedom? (The first of the "Lost One" cycle) by Heather Grimes 
    
    
    The greatest trick Winnowill ever pulled was convincing Rayek to
    love her. Not that he had been particularly hard to convince. For all
    his wisdom, his magic, even his experience with the Scrolls, he was still
    so...naive. Winnowill laughed to herself as she watched him from the
    back of his mind.
    **Why do you continue to fight me?** she said/sent velvetly. **Have
    you forgotten that we are one?**
    A hard gold send answered her. *Never.* he said/sent levelly. *But
    until you learn to love* she could hear the longing he tried vainly to
    shield *and cease to be a threat, then yes, I must fight you.*
    **Such a shame.** she said/sent. **Such a shame...**
    They both knew that it would end soon. One or the other would rise
    triumphant from the coming conflict. And the looser-? Neither permit
    them self to even consider the possibility.
    /Such a shame./ repeated Winnowill to herself. /He really is sweet.
    It will be too bad if I have to destroy him./ When the battle was over,
    Rayek would be hers, or he would be broken. Either way, her centuries of
    captivity within his soul would be over. She would be free! And there
    was nothing any of his pathetic little friends could do.
    Rayek knew what Winnowill was planning, knew too the fate she had
    planned for him. Sometimes he wished he -could- set her free. It felt
    more than a little strange, keeping her soul- the other half of his- next
    to his own. Didn't she realize that he was just as trapped? That he was
    just as much a prisoner as she? But the price of their freedom was too
    great. If he did as they both desired and let her go- her evil would
    spread through the world like a ravaging plague. No one would be safe.
    The Wolfriders would certainly be dead, and it would be his fault.
    Hadn't he done enough to them? No, he would -not- be responsible for
    this too.
    So while Winnowill brooded and plotted in the back of his mind,
    Rayek made plans of his own; and loosing was not an option.
    When Ekuar woke one evening and found Rayek gone, he knew he must
    act immediately. But what could he, old and frail as he was, do to help
    his adopted son? Even as he asked himself this, he knew the answer, and
    wished with all his heart that he didn't.
    Heedless of the possible danger, Ekuar settled himself and 'went
    out', searching for the one person he believed could help his beloved
    Brownskin.
    *Leetah?* As though blown by the wind, his send drifted through the
    astral plane, calling for the dark skinned healer. At last he found her-
    or rather she found him.
    *Ekuar?* she sent, spirit form approaching his. Her 'eyes' caught on
    the dark disturbance off in the distance that Ekuar had been warily
    watching as he searched for her. *Ekuar, where is Rayek?* she asked,
    worry for (and fear of) her friend clouding her beautiful features.
    *Call the Palace back.* Ekuar told her. *Rayek has disappeared.*
    Leetah gasped at the implication.
    *Winnowill.* she send numbly. *Has she..?*
    *Not yet.* sighed Ekuar. *But soon, I fear. Very soon.* As if in
    response to his words, the darkness began to boil and flash. *Hurry,
    child!* Ekuar sent urgently. Grabbing her astral shoulders, he tore
    Leetah's gaze away from the forming maelstrom. *You must call the
    Palace! Even now, it may be too late!* With that, he pushed her on her
    way.
    *But what of you?* she asked across the increasing distance.
    *I will find Rayek* Ekuar sent, uncharacteristic determination
    strengthening his mental voice. *I have not brought him so far, and kept
    him so long, only to loose him now.* Then he was gone, back to the
    physical world, where he would search for his missing son.
    With a last fearful glance at the roiling darkness, Leetah left as
    well, knowing she must call the Palace or all might very well be lost.
    Cutter had been wary of Leetah's sudden demand that the Palace
    return- after all, Rayek had given up the Palace because of the threat
    that Winnowill posed, and now Ekuar was asking Leetah to call it back?
    It seemed pretty suspicious to him.
    "Couldn't it have been Winnowill, pretending to be Ekuar?" he argued
    in the privacy of their den.
    Leetah sighed. "No, Cutter. Do you think that I couldn't tell the
    difference between Ekuar and Winnowill's souls?" She smiled tiredly.
    "Please, trust me. Trust -Rayek- for that matter. Do you really think
    that he would let -her- onto the astral plane unguarded?"
    Now it was Cutter's turn to sign. "Trust Rayek? There was a time
    when 'trust' and 'Rayek' did not belong in the same sentence."
    "But that time is long past." soothed Leetah, laying a gentle hand
    on his shoulder. "And he tried to mend what he had broken."
    "Rayek's idea of an apology," Cutter snorted, "Was to let me beat
    him senseless. Never one to do things by halves, is he?"
    "It worked didn't it?" Leetah asked softly. Cutter nodded. "Then
    let me call the Palace. Ekuar must have a reason for asking me to.
    Besides, I have been sensing a darkness, a disturbance on the astral
    plane. It may be that the Palace will be needed." She did not tell him
    that the darkness had a terrifyingly familiar feel. The time for that
    would come later.
    Cutter sighed again, then nodded his assent. "But please," he said,
    "Promise me you'll be careful. There's no telling what they"- and she
    knew he was referring to Rayek as well as Winnowill-"might do. Rayek and
    Winnowill. High Ones protect us from such a combination."
    "Thank you," she said, hugging him. "This may mean more than we'll
    know." Then she closed her eyes and reached for her son's mind.
    Suntop was many star miles away, but the Palace amplified his
    mother's send. Almost before they had finished speaking, he felt the
    Palace change course. He turned to find Timmain standing in the doorway
    of his personal room.
    *I heard* she sent, large blue-gray eyes apologetic and worried. *I
    too have felt the darkness your mother describes. We must go.*
    "How are we going to find them?" Leetah asked Timmain, after the
    necessarily short greetings.
    The High One smiled. "Rayek flew the Palace across 10,000 years
    following nothing but a cry. All we have to do is search for the source
    of the darkness that you, I and Suntop have sensed. They will be there."
    "But-" began Cutter.
    "I know." Timmain smiled down at Cutter. "You wonder how this can
    be. You think they could be anywhere. And you are correct. But they
    -are- on the edge of the burning waste." A shiver passed through the
    Palace. "Come, we must hurry." Timmain shivered too. Even Cutter could
    sense the foreboding that now filled the air.
    "Remember, you promised you'd be careful!* Cutter sent to Leetah and
    Suntop as the massive Palace doors swung shut.
    *We will.* they responded solemnly. Then the doors sealed, and they
    were gone.
    They found Rayek and Ekuar easily, as the High One had said they
    would. Rayek was leaning against a cave-like rock that Ekuar had
    obviously shaped for him. Ekuar himself was sitting across from Rayek,
    watching him worriedly.
    *Rayek?* sent Leetah cautiously, but got no response. Only then did
    she notice Rayek's glazed stare. Without thinking, she reached out to
    touch his arm. (Didn't he seem bigger? No time for that now.) A golden
    glimmer danced along his form, preventing her from touching him.
    *Rayek?!* she tried again, but sensed only emptiness. Numbly she turned
    to the others. "He's not in his body." she said quietly, fighting to
    keep her composure. Timmain allayed some of her fear.
    "He left by choice." The High One's voice comforted Leetah slightly.
    "If you look closely, you can see he is still bound to himself. He
    plans to come back."
    Suntop shook his head. "I keep seeing things out of the corner of
    my eye. A flip of hair, or the movement of clothing. I hear things too.
    They feel as though they are -just- out of range, and if I listen hard
    enough, then I can make them out."
    A flash of lighting lanced across the suddenly dark sky, followed by
    the rumbling of an unnatural thunder. "Into the Palace, now!" Timmain
    ordered, shouting to be heard over the howling wind. *Leave him.* she
    ordered Suntop who had stopped to pick up Rayek. *He will be protected.*
    Inside, they huddled together. Ekuar stared through the closed
    doors, toward his adopted son's empty body.
    "Come," said Timmain, laying a comforting hand on Ekuar's shoulder.
    "We will watch from the Scroll Room."
    The scene the Scrolls showed them froze their souls. Rayek and
    Winnowill stood facing each other on the astral plain, magic swirling
    about their spirit forms. Instinctively, the watching elves knew that
    this was the source of the unnatural storm raging outside of the Palace
    walls, and their hearts quailed within them.
    "And so the battle begins..." whispered Timmain into the expectant
    hush.
    

* * *

Continue 

Go back to the Archive 

Elfquest, its characters, situations, logos and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. Unless otherwise specified, all graphics on this page are the original work of Wendy and Richard Pini and Warp Graphics, TM and (c) 1996 Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. 


	3. Chapter two

What Price Freedom? part two 
    
    
    The power of the Palace was a two-edged sword. If Rayek could use it, then
    so could Winnowill. His prior experience and greater knowledge would be a thin
    shield indeed, but it would have to be enough. Rayek could feel the others
    watching. He knew Winnowill could too. /Oh, High One,/ he thought /I pray it is
    not a mistake for you to be here./ He could almost see the support Ekuar was
    trying to send him. /No./ he thought, hoping that somehow Ekuar could hear him,
    /I must use -my- strength. This is my battle. I will not risk you too./
    Regretfully, he turned the proffered strength back. /Oh High Ones,/ he prayed
    desperately, /Let me be worthy of the faith Ekuar has in me./
    They stood facing each other upon the astral plane, he and Winnowill. The
    nearby Palace shed a spectral light over the bleak soul-scape. The centuries of
    Winnowill's imprisonment were coming to a turning point. She would either win
    her freedom, or Rayek would bind her even further to his soul.
    Winnowill attacked first, dazzling ropes of light flew from her
    outstretched hand and wrapped around Rayek, seeking to immobilize him. He
    shrugged them off easily, and countered with glittering balls that sought to
    entrap Winnowill within their iridescent shells. She dissolved them with half a
    thought.
    Suntop shuddered, the presence of so much potent magic nearly overwhelming
    his senses. Timmain laid a protective hand on his head, filtering the magic and
    easing the ache.
    "It looks so...odd." breathed Leetah. "I can't put my finger on it..."
    "It's like watching someone fight their reflection." said Suntop slowly.
    "Yes," whispered Timmain. "Yet they both look so much like Haken..." She
    trailed off, lost in thought.
    /Haken, are you here?/ Timmain wondered. /Are you watching as these
    children of your spirit destroy each other?/ Ekuar's gasp recalled her attention
    to the Scroll, and the fateful scene being played out in it's colors.
    Winnowill had trapped Rayek in a ring of spectral fire, and it was
    shrinking. The flames leapt so high that Rayek was completely obscured.
    Rayek was preparing his counter attack, fingers weaving frantically as the
    fire closed in. At the last instant, he leapt clear, and before Winnowill could
    react, he threw his magic net over her head. She panicked, and in her frantic
    effort to escape, only succeeded in entangling herself further. She calmed
    herself, and smiled at Rayek. **Well done, brother.** With a gesture, she
    disintegrated the net. **But not enough.** Grinning feraly, she lunged at him,
    her features twisting and melting into those of a large desert jackal.
    He -just- dodged her assault; taking advantage of her momentary confusion
    he changed himself, using the power of the Palace to assume the form of a great
    sand cat. They prowled around each other, each testing the other's defenses with
    brief attacks. Rayek took a glancing blow to the head, while Winnowill received
    a deep scratch down her flank. She re-assumed elf form, attempting to heal the
    damage, but the injuries from this battle of souls went far deeper than mere
    wounds of the flesh.
    **There is no need for this** said/sent Winnowill, velvetly. **Serve me
    and I will be yours forever.**
    **Serve you?** Rayek laughed incredulously as he resumed elf form as well.
    A gleaming sword appeared in his hand. **And you will be -mine-? Do not lie to
    -me- Winnowill, we both know who would belong to whom. What kind of freedom
    would that be?**
    **It would be -ours-. You would no longer need to expend all your strength
    restraining me. And I would no longer be captive. Is that not what you want?**
    Winnowill smiled seductively.
    **At the expense of this whole world? With the blood of the Wolfriders on
    my hands? That is too high a price Winnowill. I will not pay it!** And he
    launched another attack, sword slashing with furious urgency.
    **Freedom is worth any price!** Winnowill dodged his blade, and flung a
    fiery ball of magic at him.
    **Even half of your soul?** he asked as he caught the ball and neutralized
    it. He held out his hand, willing her to take it.
    Winnowill paused infinitesimally. **If that is the price, then so be it.**
    But there was just the tiniest bit of hesitance in her voice.
    **And if that is the price of this world's safety, then I will pay it if I
    must.** Rayek felt infinitely weary. High Ones knew he didn't want this battle,
    had never wanted it. He wanted to love Winnowill, but she was forcing his hand.
    "Oh, they're such stubborn fools!" cried Leetah, sobbing, torn by her
    friends pain. But in her heart she knew that Rayek's stubbornness was a very
    necessary thing.
    **They get it from me, I'm afraid.** an unfamiliar spirit sent resignedly.
    **It seems to be a family trait.**
    Timmain smiled slightly, but kept her attention on the battle. *It is good
    to see you, old friend.* she sent.
    "Who are you?" asked Suntop, curiously.
    **I am Haken.** There was the same sense of a strong, proud personality in
    Haken's send as could be sensed in Rayek's. **Oh, children.** he whispered, as
    Rayek and Winnowill caught each other in magical fire.
    They both cried out as their spirits began to burn. Hastily they refocused
    their energy to dampen the flames.
    **Well,** sent Rayek, **That got us nowhere.**
    **Indeed.** Winnowill agreed, then lashed out with a spirit talon whip.
    Rayek gasped as the ends of the whip scored his cheek, grimly he caught the whip
    and wrenched it from Winnowill's grasp. Rayek sketched a circle around Winnowill,
    creating an invisible barrier and trapping her inside.
    Winnowill regarded him from within her crystal cage, a small smile playing
    about the corners of her mouth. **Who are you seeking to protect, brother?** she
    chuckled. **The Wolfriders? They do not deserve your concern.**
    **They do not deserve your hatred** Rayek answered her levelly.
    **Pfah. They are vermin.** Winnowill dismissed them. **Perhaps you defend
    your dear, dear Sun Folk?** She laughed aloud. **Isn't so deliciously ironic, my
    love? Had you been a simple Sun Villager, and tended the garden as your father
    wished, you would now be flying from star to star in the Palace, as you always
    dreamed. But if you -had- been a quiet Sun Villager, the Palace would still be
    moldering in the Frozen Mountains.** She giggled. **It is simply -too-
    delicious.** She paused as though suddenly struck by an idea. **--Wait! Are you
    actually trying to protect the -humans-? Like that little playmate of yours? Oh,
    what -was- her name...? Shuna? No, wrong century. Sherna? Shasta?** Winnowill
    laughed, enjoying this game immensely.
    Rayek regarded her stonily, refusing to be drawn in this manner, though he
    flinched at the mention of Sherla. **Why are you suddenly so desperate to be
    free of me?** he asked when she was done. **I thought I was your other half. Is
    familiarity breeding contempt, my dear?**
    **You, who have fought all your life to be free of this thrice cursed
    world, must ask why I wish to be free? Dear soul of mine, I thought you, of all
    people, would understand!** Winnowill seemed genuinely surprised.
    **I love you.** Rayek sent simply, hoping against hope that maybe -this-
    time she would listen.
    **Will you stop saying that?!** Winnowill snapped. **You unbelievable
    idiot, have you not learned by now that love is -pain-? What will it take to
    make you see?!** She smashed her way out of Rayek's invisible fence, her
    features melting in shape-change once again. Now she was the Black Snake in
    truth. Rayek leaped clear of her strike with practiced ease. Moving quickly, he
    snatched the end of her tail and snapped her whole body like a living whip,
    leaving her stunned. She cursed herself for choosing this form. He grew up in
    the desert, of -course- he knew how to handle a dangerous snake!
    Rayek began to take them both back into his empty body, but Winnowill
    recovered too soon. She lashed her head up and sank her venomous fangs deep into
    his hand. Rayek hissed and dropped her from suddenly numb fingers. She reformed
    as she fell, and stood to her full elven height, laughing. **Tsk, tsk. Such a
    nasty bite. Let me take care of it for you.** she fussed, smiling, and reached
    for his hand. Rayek pulled away. Winnowill put a hand to her heart as though
    injured. **Ah, you wound me with your distrust.** she said, then laughed.
    **I have lived with one arm before. And High Ones help me, I can do it
    again.** said Rayek grimly.
    **Then, en garde!** trilled Winnowill, cheerfully borrowing a human term as
    she lashed out again.
    And so the battle continued, each gaining-- then loosing-- ground. Neither
    gained the upper hand for long. They were too evenly matched, and they knew each
    other's tactics too well.
    The magics they used now were much less refined than those they had begun
    with. The battle had already lasted several hours, and they were feeling
    drained, even with the Palace's power to draw on.
    **This charade has gone on long enough, brother.** Winnowill finally
    snarled. **Goodbye!** Reaching deep within herself, and calling on the
    impartial power of the Palace, she hurled a blazing ball of soulfire at him.
    Rayek threw up a desperate shield, but he didn't even have time to scream
    as Winnowill's soulfire blasted through it and ripped into him. For a moment,
    all was fiery, incandescent pain. Then mercifully it was cool blackness- and
    then, blessedly, nothing at all.
    Leetah gasped as Rayek fell. He had to get up! She watched helplessly as
    his spirit form flickered and disappeared. No. He couldn't be gone! Tears
    streamed down her face as she stared in shock at the scene of Winnowill's
    triumph.
    Timmain and Suntop could only stare, horrified. Ekuar sent desperately,
    searching for any trace of his soul-son.
    **I am free!** Winnowill exulted. **Free!** But her victory felt hollow.
    She shivered, remembering a quiet question. 'Even half of your soul?' Unbidden,
    she recalled Rayek as he had stood there, eyes pleading as he offered her his
    head, hand, and heart. His -soul-. **I am free.** she whispered fiercely.
    **Freedom is worth any price.** But deep within, she wasn't so sure.
    **It did not have to be this way!** she sent to whatever shreds of Rayek
    might still remain. **Your love was your weakness.**
    **Love is never a weakness.** Impossibly, it was Rayek.
    Winnowill whirled. **Where are you?** she asked, uncertain whether to be
    pleased or furious over his return.
    **Right here.** She could sense movement, but she couldn't see anything.
    She spun, searching for signs of him.
    **So soon you forget me?** Rayek laughed. **I am here.** Now she saw. It
    wasn't so much a darkness as an un-light.
    **I see only a shadow.** she said, confused.
    **That is all you need to see.**
    Leetah nearly wept for joy when Rayek sent again. She saw the shadow form
    flickering around Winnowill and knew that it was Rayek. For so many years, his
    love had been the shadow-- the darkness that overwhelms the light-- she had
    feared, but in time she had learned that there was no need for that fear. And
    here he was again, her dear friend somehow unharmed. She smiled triumphantly
    through her tears.
    Ekuar breathed a silent prayer of thanks to the spirits of the Palace,
    gratitude for his soul-son's return shining from him like a beacon.
    Then, in a sudden, convulsive movement, the Shadow/Rayek sprang at
    Winnowill. Winnowill hurled soulfire, but he did not let go of her.
    **Sister** he sent, in the split second before the soulfire blazed through
    him again, **We have both been too wrapped up in ourselves. We have both
    forgotten that we are one, and what you do to one, you do to the other.** He did
    not try to avoid her blast. Indeed, he seemed to welcome it.
    Winnowill shrieked as it hit him, for she felt it too, as though her soul was
    the one burning. They screamed in shared agony until the Palace itself cried
    with them.
    When the soulfire struck Rayek for the second time, Leetah thought that she
    could not bear it. But instead of weakening, Rayek seemed to find a strange
    strength. The magic aura around the two combatants brightened until neither
    could be seen and the light was painful. It remained that way for some while.
    When the light surrounding Winnowill and Rayek finally faded, all that was
    left was two dark and nearly lifeless spirits, laying where they had fallen.
    

* * *

Continue 

Go back to the Archive 

Elfquest, its characters, situations, logos and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. Unless otherwise specified, all graphics on this page are the original work of Wendy and Richard Pini and Warp Graphics, TM and (c) 1996 Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved Worldwide. 


End file.
